NCJ Number
67998
Date Published
1979
Length
68 pages
Annotation
THIS REPORT PRESENTS EVIDENCE CONCERNING POLICE RELATIONS WITH THE BRITISH BLACK (WEST INDIAN AND ASIAN) COMMUNITY, AND WITH BLACK INDIVIDUALS, SUBMITTED TO THE BRITISH ROYAL COMMISSION ON CRIMINAL PROCEDURE.
Abstract
THE EVIDENCE WAS SUBMITTED BY THE INSTITUTE OF RACE RELATIONS. INFORMATION SOURCES INCLUDED MASS MEDIA, BOOKS, LAWYERS' CASE FILES, COMMUNICATIONS FROM LEGAL AND ADVISORY CENTERS, BLACK SELF-HELP GROUPS, PERSONAL INTERVIEWS, BLACK AND MINORITY NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS, AND FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE. RESULTS INDICATED A CONSISTENT PATTERN OF POLICE SUSPICION AGAINST BLACKS AND GENERAL HARASSMENT OF BLACK GROUPS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. POLICE OVERMAN BLACK EVENTS, CONCENTRATE THEIR ENFORCEMENT EFORTS IN PREDOMINANTLY BLACK LOCALITIES, AND PRACTICE INFORMATION GATHERING AND SURVEILLANCE OF BLACKS. MOREOVER, POLICE HAVE FAILED TO DEAL WITH VIOLENCE AGAINST THE BLACK COMMUNITY PERPETRATED BY SECTIONS OF THE WHITE COMMUNITY. IN ADDITION, BLACK INDIVIDUALS SUFFER HARASSMENT FROM POLICE ON THE STREET AND AT THE POLICE STATION. THE CATEGORIZATION OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY AS SUSPECT LEADS TO WIDESPREAD INJUSTICE DURING THE PROSECUTION AND CONVICTION PROCESS AS WELL. EXAMINATION OF THE CONCEPT AND PRACTICE OF POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY INDICATES THAT EXISTING POLICE STRUCTURES DESIGNED TO IMPROVE POLICE-BLACK RELATIONS ARE WORTHLESS AND SHOULD BE ABANDONED. IN ADDITION, CERTAIN OUTSIDE POLICE FORCES SHOULD NOT BE USED IN BLACK AREAS. POLICE TRAINING AND EDUCATION SHOULD INCLUDE MATERIALS ON RACISM AND THE BLACK EXPERIENCE IN BRITAIN. NUMEROUS CASE EXAMPLES, SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEMS REPORTED, AND A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE INCLUDED.